Penny Sexton, Senior Creative Programme Manager, English Heritage
English Heritage commemorated the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall by commissioning a new artwork by Morag Myerscough, which was the first commission under their new Creative Programme. We’ll examine the potential for contemporary arts in heritage environments whilst exploring the opportunities and challenges.
Speaker: Penny Sexton, Senior Creative Programme Manager, English Heritage
To commemorate the 1900th anniversary of Hadrian’s Wall, English Heritage commissioned artist Morag Myerscough to create a monumental artwork. ‘The Future Belongs To What Was As Much As What Is’ was English Heritage’s first major artistic commission under its new Creative Programme and ran from July to October 2022. The art installation was built on the footprint of the original Roman gatehouse on Hadrian’s Wall offering visitors the opportunity to view the landscape, for the first time in 1600 years, as the Roman soldiers would have. In this talk we will position the artwork within English Heritage’s strategic priorities and also examine the potential for contemporary arts in heritage environments through the case study of the Hadrian’s Wall commission, exploring the opportunities and challenges related to authenticity, engagement and logistics.
